After Three Months Out, Jon Stewart Makes His Triumphant Daily Show Return: Big Macs, Paula Deen and Syria

We loved John Oliver on The Daily Show, but let’s be honest – it’s really Jon Stewart’s schtick. Well, fans of the comedian/director/pundit will no doubt be glad to learn that he is finally back to hosting the satirical news show. Stewart spent the summer filming his movie Rosewater in Jordan and, naturally the opening gag had to make reference of that.

Stewart returned with a healthy tan and a bout of nostalgia.

We won’t spoil it for you, but it did involve Stewart, Oliver, Stephen Colbert and Big Mac defibrillators. It might not have been the subtlest of gags, but it did get the point across – Jon Stewart is back and entirely his old, red, white and blue American self. And while Stewart admitted to enjoying the cultural experience, apparently there’s nothing like being back in the good ol’ US of A. "For all that I appreciate and learned about the culture that I was immersed in, boy, I'm Western, in all its glorious, decadent imperfections," he said. "I recall driving back to New York City thinking, 'Hello dildo shop near a school.’”

Oliver did a great job, of course, but now things are back to normal.

Oliver then debriefed Stewart on all the important events of the summer: Sharknado, Paula Deen, Carlos Danger – the stuff that really matters. In all seriousness, however, Stewart had to tackle an entirely more unpleasant topic – the Syria debates. He handled it well, however, delivering a vintage segment about “The Idiot Parade” of so-called experts pushing for intervention in Syria and an in-depth interview with Andrew Harper, Head of the United Nations refugee agency in Jordan, which focused on the humanitarian side of the conflict and the perilous situation of Syrian refugees on the Jordan border.

On his first night back, Stewart was faced with the hot topic of Syria.